Tuesday, July 10, 2007

iPhone Woes

Apple hasn't shown much concern over the consumers maintaining their computers or Ipods. they have been notoriously expensive to repair when their stuff goes bad. The iPhones are expensive to manufacture and they will be expencive to maintain. Unlike every other manufacturer the new Apple iPhone does not have a consumer replaceable battery. The hapless consumer will have to send the phone in and pay Apple $85.95. If they can't do without a phone for a few days Apple will gladly rent a phone for $29. Consumer groups find this unfair.

A consumer group has warned that Apple's battery-replacement policy for the iPhone is inadequate, as sales for the new gadget introduced during the weekend were estimated at topping 500,000 units.

Before the iPhone went on sale Friday evening, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights sent a letter to Apple chief executive Steve Jobs and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, whose company is the exclusive wireless carrier for the iPhone in the U.S. The letters asked the CEOs to implement consumer safeguards for the iPhone batteries, arguing that most buyers would have to pay to have them replaced after the iPhone's one-year warranty, unless users buy an extended warranty. The battery does not appear to be user replaceable, and Apple advises buyers to take the iPhone back to Apple or AT&T for support.